Many parts of this country, even of the world, experience occasional droughts which call for voluntary cutbacks of water usage or when the drought is serious, rationing of water. In normally arid regions, such as the western United States, water conservation is a fact of life, even in years with average rainfall amounts. Unfortunately, water conservation is practiced inconsistently and unevenly. Water districts and utilities periodically make public service announcements reminding people not to waste water. Some even distribute water conservation kits including shower flow restrictors, new spigot seals, and toilet reservoir displacement packs.
One common method of conserving water in a shower is the use of shower head flow restrictors. Compared to standard shower heads, those with flow restrictors deliver water at a reduced rate while attempting to maintain the shower's spray force. One such shower head is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,844 to Harmony. This shower head features the addition of air into the water stream to reduce the amount of water flow. The stream is then split into a cone shaped spray and a pulsating spray, the latter serving to maintain the peak spray force.
Unfortunately, many people quickly discontinue use of restricted flow shower heads in favor of standard flow shower heads. These people apparently are dissatisfied with the "feel"of the restricted flow, even when compensated for by a pulsing action Further, many restricted flow shower heads tend to be inefficient in their ability to rinse soap from the body, leaving their users dissatisfied long after the shower is over. Even when people continue to use the restricted flow shower heads, the length of the shower tends to increase over time until, in the end, little overall water savings result.
Another shower conservation tool used by some is a timer. One such timer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,842 to Grover, Jr. et al. A problem with timers is that they are not always an accurate measure of actual water use. Most do not take into account the water flow rate or the practice of some people of turning water off during shampooing and back on for rinsing. Some with flow meters measure only hot water usage. Others with reset features can be fooled easily.
Most water meters only indicate the volume delivered with a numerical readout or dial. These can easily be ignored, particularly when a user's back is to the readout, and can also be misread, particularly by people who take their eyeglasses off when showering. Many water meters are bulky, making them unsuitable for use with a shower, and do not have a reset, making calculation of water use more difficult and error prone.
An object of the present invention is to provide a shower volume meter which accurately measures water use and which urges people to conserve water.